Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 90

“It’s settled. We can go home this afternoon, and until then, none of us is allowed to leave the hunting grounds!” Xia Heng announced solemnly.

Xiao Yaqing and Chuqing nodded with equal seriousness.

Facts had proven that they might be fundamentally incompatible with this place. Whether alone or in pairs, they were prone to danger here.

Fortunately, all of them had returned safely!

Then again, by ordinary logic, none of those things should have happened to them in the first place.

Once the rule was established, the three women went about their own tasks while remaining where they could see one another.

“Do you think the wolves I encountered on the first day were the same pack involved in the later attempt on the Emperor?” Xiao Yaqing asked while peeling roasted chestnuts beside Xia Heng.

“Didn’t you say that most of the wolves chasing you were killed?

“But why are there so many wolves in the hunting grounds? Isn’t this a royal preserve?” Xia Heng asked, equally puzzled.

“Do you think this is the mod— Ahem… Do you think this is an era with very few wild animals?

“There aren’t only wolves here. There are bears too—jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, everything!

“But an organized wolf pack attacking one person? An occasional incident might make sense, but with so many other animals around, why would they insist on surrounding a human?”

Xiao Yaqing nearly let the word *modern* slip and hastily smoothed over the mistake.

“Then there’s the meat-scent powder. The Xia family prepared it in advance, which proves they came with a plan… It seems they must have something to do with the attempt on the Emperor.”

Xia Heng nodded.

“As expected of a woman like an eagle. You really are clever.”

Xiao Yaqing glared at her.

The women fell quiet for a while.

After thinking for a long time, Xiao Yaqing asked hesitantly, “By the way… Ah Heng, do you have… sleeping pills?”

Xia Heng did not understand at first. She leaned back slightly.

“Who are you planning to drug?”

Xiao Yaqing pressed her lips together and glanced at Dongfang Wei’s tent.

She had heard he became unwell again yesterday. She did not know whether he had taken his medicine properly.

“…The Emperor.”

“Hiss! You want to drug the Emperor? Have you lost your mind? Do you have a death wish?”

Xia Heng thought Xiao Yaqing was astonishingly daring!

She wanted to drug the Emperor. What exactly was she planning?

Was some adults-only plot about to unfold without Xia Heng’s knowledge?

*My Delicate, Sickly Beauty of a Husband and Me?*

Xiao Yaqing stared speechlessly at her. Xia Heng’s mouth was asking whether she had a death wish, but excitement shone plainly in her eyes.

Ha. They were both homebodies. Xiao Yaqing understood her far too well.

She hauled Xia Heng back by the arm.

“The Emperor can’t sleep!”

“Oh! Ahem, ahem. Oh… So that’s it. Wait a moment. Let me look.”

Xia Heng coughed twice to hide her embarrassment and silently opened the system store.

Right. Dongfang Wei suffered from insomnia. How could she have imagined something else?

It was mainly because the person asking for the medicine was Xiao Yaqing.

It had to be because she was normally so unreliable. It had to be!

“I have some.”

Xia Heng checked the price. They cost ten points each, so she simply exchanged for ten pills and handed them to Xiao Yaqing.

“…You know this kind of thing can’t be taken too often. And it treats the symptoms, not the cause…”

Holding the pills, Xiao Yaqing was deeply moved.

She had already decided that if her sworn sister hesitated in the slightest, she would stop her immediately and never mention the matter again. She would not put Xia Heng in a difficult position.

Instead, Xia Heng had exchanged for ten pills without a second thought.

“Thank you, Ah Heng! I won’t take them for nothing. I’ll pay you ten thousand taels. How does that sound?”

Xia Heng narrowed her eyes at her. It was wonderful to be rich. She opened her mouth and offered ten thousand taels just like that.

“Save it. My points have been increasing lately, and I can afford this much. But how are you going to give them to him? You can’t hand them over directly, can you?”

Xia Heng pointed to the capsules in Xiao Yaqing’s palm.

With Dongfang Wei’s suspicious nature, the moment he saw these things, would he not demand to know where they came from, how they were made, and how anyone could create such packaging?

“I still can’t let you pay for them. Once we return, I’ll send the money to you. I know how difficult it is for you to earn points!

“I’ll also think of other methods after we return and see whether I can help your points increase faster!”

Xiao Yaqing felt very apologetic. She knew how hard it was for her sister to earn even a few points. But looking at Dongfang Wei’s condition, she truly feared he would not be able to hold on.

“As for the medicine… I’ll find a way to make him take it without letting him see the capsules.

“I know a miracle doctor surnamed Luo. They say he can treat this kind of insomnia and headache.

“I’ve already sent people to find him. Once he is located, Guangji will certainly recover.”

“Miracle Doctor Luo…”

Ah!

That was the physician who told the female lead about the Tianshan Snow Lotus.

In the end, he truly did cure Dongfang Wei’s insomnia.

But it seemed Dongfang Wei had to drink medicine for three months…

Xia Heng recalled the cold medicine the mansion physician had prescribed for her and shuddered. Three whole months!

Good luck, male lead!

“Ah Heng!”

“This dagger is wonderful! It’s light and thin, but also very sturdy. Look at the hide I scraped!”

After being reprimanded that morning, Chuqing knew she had done wrong and had not dared sit too close to Xia Heng.

Instead, she sat to one side and worked on several pelts she had taken a liking to.

She had just finished scraping a fox pelt and brought it over to show them.

“Isn’t it especially clean? Look, it can even scrape all these little corners and edges!”

Xia Heng accepted the fox pelt and turned it back and forth, praising Chuqing’s skill while murmuring, “This would… Ah, it must be worth a lot of money!”

Xiao Yaqing reached over to feel it as well.

“Forget being worth money. It would be enough to get you thrown in prison!”

Chuqing was still happily fiddling with the spring-loaded dagger.

Xia Heng handed the fox pelt back to her and, seeing how delighted she looked, said, “If you like the dagger, you can keep it.”

Then she added, “But watch your hands! It’s extremely sharp!”

“Really? Thank you, Ah Heng! You’re the best! I’ll treasure it!”

Chuqing grinned, showing a neat row of white teeth. Ordinary daggers had always been too large for her or else too blunt. The one Ah Heng gave her was perfect.

Then she quickly began searching her mind for something she could give Ah Heng in return.

That afternoon, Dongfang Wei forced himself to hold on long enough to announce the end of the Winter Hunt.

Everyone packed their belongings and prepared to return home.

At last, Xia Heng and Chuqing climbed into the carriage for the journey back.

They had eaten nearly all the food they brought, but they were returning with a considerable number of pelts. As a result, the carriage was even more crowded than it had been on the way there.

Some of the game Cang Chuli hunted remained uneaten. However, many people stayed behind to guard the hunting grounds, and the hunting dogs and other animals needed to be fed, so none of it went to waste.

If one wanted hunting dogs to track game, one had to feed them meat.

The party swayed and jolted all the way back to the General’s Mansion.

Uncle Zhao personally came to the gate to welcome them. Qiulin, Zhao Die, and the others hurried out as soon as they heard the news.

Cang Chuli frowned slightly at the sight of so many people.

Then, after bowing to him, all of them continued straight past him.

“You’re back!”

“Why have you lost weight? You were gone for only three days, and you came back thinner? Even Chuqing’s jawline is showing now!”

“What happened to your clothes?”

The moment Xia Heng stepped down from the carriage, she received the “warm concern” of her companions at the General’s Mansion.

Sure enough, Zhao Siyan immediately noticed how different the two women’s clothes looked from when they departed.

Uncle Zhao watched the group with a beaming smile.

“Hey, why are you pulling me?” Zhao Die asked, turning to Zhao Siyan.

“The General is returning to Tingtao Pavilion? Farewell, General…”

“Farewell… General.”

Everyone bowed. Chuqing tilted her head and looked at them, then could not help whispering, “Farewell? Shouldn’t we be welcoming him back?”

“Welcome home, General!”

“Welcome home, General!”

“Welcome home, General!”

“Welcome home, General!”

They immediately corrected themselves, their voices rising one after another.

Xia Heng had also sensed something was wrong. “Farewell” sounded far too much like sending away a guest.

Cang Chuli paused, then strode directly back to Tingtao Pavilion.

He had not expected to experience the embarrassment of thinking too highly of himself one day.

Cang Chuli gave a self-mocking smile.

That maid made a grander return to the mansion than he did!